The Big Bitcoin Opponent, American Giant Company Vanguard, May Actually Be a BTC Fan! Data Has Emerged!

Vanguard, a $10 trillion asset management giant known for its harsh criticisms of Crypto, has ironically become one of the institutions with the highest indirect exposure to Bitcoin.

Although the company does not invest directly in Bitcoin, thanks to the logic of index funds, it has become the largest investor in Strategy shares, which are one of the symbol names in the crypto market.

Vanguard holds approximately 8% of Strategy's publicly traded Class A shares, which is more than 20 million shares. According to data compiled by Bloomberg from regulatory filings, this percentage has positioned Vanguard as the number one shareholder, surpassing Capital Group in the fourth quarter. These shares are included in the portfolios of dozens of different Vanguard funds, ranging from value, growth, and momentum strategies that track small to mid-cap company indices.

Vanguard management has maintained a clear stance against cryptocurrencies to date. CEO Tim Buckley described Bitcoin as an asset that is "speculative and has no economic value, unsuitable for long-term portfolios," and had not allowed these products to be traded on their platform when Bitcoin ETFs are launched in the US in 2024. Buckley stated, "It is indeed hard to think about how it could fit into a long-term portfolio."

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has been the first public company to invest a large amount in Bitcoin since 2020. The company, led by Michael Saylor, funds its Bitcoin purchases both through borrowing and issuing shares. Since then, the company's shares have increased by approximately 3,400%. As of today, the company, which holds over 70 billion dollars in Bitcoin reserves, is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world, and its largest individual shareholder, Michael Saylor, owns about 20 million shares.

Saylor stated about the large shareholding ratio owned by Vanguard, "This is a strong signal that Bitcoin is increasingly being recognized as a legitimate reserve asset by the traditional financial community."